An exploration of pizza in and around Rochester, NY, one pizzeria at a time

Friday, October 9, 2009

Doughboys, Irondequoit - Closed as of March 2011

Doughboys is a takeout and delivery place on East Ridge Road, just west of Culver. I stopped by recently and took advantage of their pizza lunch special - two slices and a drink for just five dollars. I got one cheese and one pepperoni.
The slices were medium thick. The undersides were browned, and grease-free (remember, grease on top - OK; grease on bottom - bad). There had a little crispness, and the outer edges were crunchy and a bit floury (is “floury” a word?).
I wondered if there was some oil in the dough, as they seemed to have a hint of shortening in the crust. Overall, though, they were reasonably bready.
The slices were on the cheesy side, with a thick, browned, chewy layer of mozzarella atop each. The sauce was fairly thin, both in its consistency and application. It had a cooked-tomato, slightly herbal flavor. The pepperoni was of the wide-and-thin variety.
Doughboys has a pretty standard lineup of pizza toppings and specialty pizzas, as well as wings, hot and cold subs, cheese and pepperoni stuffed breads, calzones, burgers and hots, and sides.
Concerning those salads - although you can get a small tossed salad, most of the salads aren’t exactly diet food. How about a “Pin Oak Salad - not sure how that one got its name - which comes with shaved steak, french fries and cheddar cheese? I'll have one of those - hold the lettuce, please. Oh, and put the shaved steak on a bun.
I should also mention that Doughboys is one of the few places I've seen that puts its owners' names right on the menu. Kudos to them for that, as it shows a certain level of pride in, and responsibility for, their product.
Getting back to that product, this wasn’t bad pizza. It had pretty good flavor and some breadiness. I had no real complaints about it. On the other hand, I can’t say that it stood head and shoulders above the crowd, or that it was really exceptional in any way. But it is at least a cut above average, and so I’ll give it a C+.
Doughboys Pizzeria, 1963 East Ridge Rd., Irondequoit. 266-9380
Mon. 4 p.m. - 9 p.m., Tue. - Thu. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. - 9 p.m. (fall & winter), 4 p.m. - 9 p.m. (spring & summer)

Ratings Guide

A: great; one of the best this area has to offerB: pretty good; not top-notch, but definitely good, and better than averageC: OK; nothing special, but it’ll do; typical for our areaD: edible; if you’ve already paid for it, you might as well eat itF: downright bad; toss it and get something else